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Today's Opinions

I read the April 22 paid advertisement that Dr. Sterling Watson submitted to your newspaper announcing his candidacy for the District 2 County Commission seat. As a current member of the Gadsden County Board of Commissioners (to whom he referred several times) I feel obligated to respond.

Mother’s Day. It’s just around the corner. There are many who will celebrate it with bittersweet memories of their mothers who are no longer here. Others are fortunate enough to be able to spend the holiday with their moms.

I am one of those still blessed to have my mother here with me. Well, she’s not here, but she’s still here...if you get what I mean. She doesn’t live here; she lives in North Georgia.

When I think back over the course of my life, there’s one constant thread...the love of my mother.

Last week was a busy one for law enforcement and a sad one for several families who had to bury loved ones. It happens all too frequently in our state and in our nation. But I suppose I am most bothered by some of the comments people make about Gadsden County. It appears that some of our neighbors are chomping at the bit and waiting for a tragedy to befall our community so they can take pot-shots at us.

The most troubling and insulting comment came from someone who wrote: "Let's bulldoze Gadsden County and start from scratch."

It’s May already...and summer’s just around the corner. When I realized that, it got me to thinking about all the things I grew up doing during those blissful months without the burden of homework or school.

When I was a kid, the thing to do in the summertime was to go to the pool at the American Legion. It cost a dollar to get in, and there was a snack bar where you could purchase a small cup of soda and choose from a number of snack foods.

This weekend we welcome visitors to our city for the annual QuincyFest. People come from throughput Georgia and Florida to hear good blues and eat fantastic barbecue. A lot of local people put in many volunteer hours throughout the year to make the event a success. It has been a success. And the event is getting even better.

Last Thursday afternoon my community was shaken by a tornado. In the middle of the afternoon we were visited by an unwelcome stranger. It marched through our close knit serene neighborhoods leaving downed trees and power lines in its wake. Fortunately, there was only damage to property. No lives were lost; no one so much as got a splinter in his or her hand.

Sam Hawkins has to go to trial for a horse that Gadsden County killed and did not belong to him? Well, I am ashamed to tell anyone that I live in Gadsden County. Next time, county manager, don't overfeed the animal.

Mr. Mathis admitted in an oral statement to the Gadsden County Sheriff's Office that the horse belonged to him and not Mr. Hawkins, so why did the State Attorney's Office arrest the wrong man? When Mr. Hawkins was over the Gadsden County NAACP, he helped a lot of people in the county, but he also told the county commissioners and others when they were wrong.

Just 3 weeks shy of the National Day of Prayer, set for the first Thursday in May each year, rumors circulated that Obama had decided he didn’t want to “offend anyone,” so he canceled it. He didn’t cancel the National Day of Prayer, and was expected to sign a proclamation to uphold the tradition. He did, however, cancel the White House service in observance of the day.